Islesford man guilty in bathroom camera porn case

BANGOR, Maine — A federal judge has found an Islesford man guilty of producing child pornography by taking pictures of his former girlfriend’s teenage daughter with cameras hidden in bathroom walls.

U.S. District Judge John Woodcock issued the verdict Friday after four days of testimony in the jury-waived trial of Daniel Poulin, 43.

Woodcock found that Poulin used hidden cameras in four different residences and taped hundreds of hours of video. The video was recorded when the victim, who testified against him last week, was between the ages of 15 and 18. At least one of the cameras was placed inside a toilet.

Poulin, who had been out on $10,000 unsecured bail while awaiting trial, was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service shortly after the verdict was announced, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the case.

He will be held without bail at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset until he is sentenced.

A sentencing date has not been set.

Poulin faces a minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years. He also could be ordered to pay a fine of up to $250,000.

Poulin was not charged with distributing the images. He admitted that he placed the cameras in the bathroom and made recordings that violated individuals’ privacy. Poulin denied that he produced pornography.

The indictment against him in March 2008 was brought by a federal grand jury because the cameras he used to capture the images between 2001 and 2004 were purchased in Texas and mailed to him in Maine.

None of the images, according to court documents, depicted the girl, who is now an adult, engaged in what most adults would consider sexual conduct. Many of them showed her getting undressed and toweling off after showering.

Poulin’s attorney, David Van Dyke of Lewiston, had argued in his brief, filed before the trial began on Sept. 8, that Poulin was not guilty because it was not his intent to produce pornography.

Van Dyke said Wednesday that he would appeal the verdict to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.

“This case raises real issues on appeal,” he said Wednesday. “Everyone agrees that this is not a typical child pornography case. This is a voyeur case.”

Van Dyke said the case raises legal questions about what is the production of pornography, whether purchasing the cameras out of state meets the interstate nexus requirement for federal charges, and whether what Poulin filmed is pornography.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gail Malone declined to comment on the verdict. It is the practice of the prosecutor’s office not to comment on cases until they have been resolved.